Jeremiah 21:6
in Jeremiah 21I will strike down the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a terrible plague.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
KJV
And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
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This verse in Jeremiah 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThey shall die of a great pestilence - The sword may appear to be that of man, though I have given the Chaldeans their commission; but the pestilence shall appear to be the immediate act of God.
This site's exposition
But Jeremiah answered, “You are to
on Jeremiah 21:3-7
The answer reverses the delegation’s hope: “I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands”. Verse 5 takes the words of Israel’s rescue at Exodus 6:6 and turns them on Jerusalem. “I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm.”
This site's exposition
both man and beast
Man and beast die together, as they would in a city shut in by a long siege. Clarke notes that the sword could look like the work of the Chaldeans. The plague would show itself as the direct act of God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 3 seqq.) And Jeremiah said to them: Thus shall you say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war (or the weapons of warfare) which are in your hands, wherewith you fight against the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans that besiege you round about the walls: and I will gather them (or it) together in the midst of this city, and I will fight against you with stretched-out hand, and with a strong arm (or an exalted one), and in fury, and in wrath, and in great indignation.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): I will smite those that abide in the city (so it may be read), both man and beast, both the beasts that are for food and those that are for service in war, foot and horse; they shall, die of a great pestilence, which shall rage within the walls, while the enemies are encamped about them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And I will smite the inhabitants of this city,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A great pestilence - As the result of the excessive crowding of men and animals in a confined space with all sanitary regulations utterly neglected.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִכֵּיתִ֗י | vehikeiti | and I will strike down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הָעִ֣יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָדָ֖ם | haadam | the humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבְּהֵמָ֑ה | habehemah | the animal[s] | H929 → | 190 times |
| בְּדֶ֥בֶר | bedever | by a pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| יָמֻֽתוּ׃ | yamutu | they will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְהִכֵּיתִ֗יand I will strike down
vehikeitiH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
הָעִ֣ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאָדָ֖םthe humankind
haadamH120 →551 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַבְּהֵמָ֑הthe animal[s]
habehemahH929 →190 times
בְּדֶ֥בֶרby a pestilence
bedeverH1698 →49 times
גָּד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
יָמֻֽתוּ׃they will die
yamutuH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 1:3
“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind…
- Isaiah 24:4–12
The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.
- Nahum 1:4
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
- Jeremiah 12:4
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said,…
- Ezekiel 38:20
The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at…
- Zephaniah 1:3
Through
Ezekiel 14:21For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:17
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
- Ezekiel 33:27
Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be…
- Ezekiel 5:17
Through
Ezekiel 14:19Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 38:22
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
- Ezekiel 38:22
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.